


In His Shadow

by RoadWild



Category: The Completionist Chronicles
Genre: Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:20:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25133776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoadWild/pseuds/RoadWild
Summary: After Joe's banishment, Occultatum chooses a new champion in order to spread his influence across Eternium. Daniel Lee, or DLeet, must follow in the footsteps of a giant as he tries to find footing in this new world.
Kudos: 2





	In His Shadow

The world was falling apart. Monsters started rising out of the sea like some sort of Lovecraftian horrordise and the president of the United States was urging people to play video games. It was like some sort of dystopian novel come to life. Monsters are attacking civilization and there’s these gems that when pressed against your head could make you disappear. And the latter was somehow the only solution.

The world’s militaries rallied and try to combat the twisted organisms that crept out of the seas, but enough failed attempts and destroyed coastal cities sunk the lesson in. The only escape was Eternium.

Daniel Lee lived two lives. In one life he was a fairly successful businessman who brokered corporate deals like disciplining a naughty child and was a generally upstanding member of his community. In the other life he was a hardcore degenerate gamer, someone who pulled two all-nighters on weekends grinding a single videogame and went completely off the rails once his tie came off.

Eternium was a game Daniel was vaguely familiar with, many of his online friends playing it and subsequently raving about it. He himself never played because in order to truly succeed he’d have to dedicate his time fully to it and he valued his job too much. Of course, he was regretting not playing Eternium very much when it seemed that the game was soon to be the only form of life viable on Earth. Squeezing his eyes tight, Daniel touched the Core to his head.

_Do you want **power***? Yes/No_

_“Well then, this wasn’t what I expected.”_ Daniel thought. Then he panicked, because he had no limbs. And no head. And no eyes.

_“Keep calm, keep calm, this has been playtested by literally everyone else in America by now. This is supposed to happen. My consciousness is the game, the game is my consciousness.”_ Daniel reassured himself of that, and mentally decided on _Yes._

_Do you know what is about to happen? Have you read the terms and conditions*?_

_“Uh, nope.”_ Daniel admitted that he had little to no idea how the game would work, and so he bit the bullet and clicked the least clicked button of all time. _Read Terms and Conditions._

_“Woah!”_ A massive wall of text appeared, and Daniel would’ve reared back had he not been a disembodied consciousness. He was fairly familiar with complicated legalese, given his previous job, though it had mostly consisted of yelling at the other company’s people and ripping papers in half.

There were no hidden traps or anything malicious Daniel could find, so he clicked _‘Accept’_ and waited the next step. Of which immediately began to alarm him.

_Excellent. Prepare to die. Yes/Yes_

_“What?! Where’s the ‘or’ button! There’s always an ‘or’ button!”_ Wait, Daniel had specifically studied a word to get out of these kinds of situations! _“Mu! Mu!!_ Daniel mentally shouted, though to no avail. All there was were the text, and emptiness. Resigned to his fate, Daniel clicked the first _Yes._

Several things immediately happened. First, Daniel had a body again. Second, that body immediately began to asphyxiate as foul-tasting liquid filled his nose and mouth. His limbs felt like they were moving through amber, and Daniel felt his consciousness begin to slip. He was giving up on his new lease on life when cool air suddenly filled his lungs.

Daniel fell to the ground and gasped as his mind started _screaming at the near-death experience that was inflicted on him seconds into coming to this new world._

_Welcome to Eternium! As the world falls to shambles a new life awaits you! As a refugee from Earth you have two options moving forward. Your first option is to select one of the many available starting classes and begin your adventure in Eternium. Your second option is to undergo a personalized test in order to properly gauge your potential and find the perfect class for you!_

This next section was going to dictate the entirety of his new life, so Daniel _had_ to be careful. Choosing a starting class would likely allow him to draw upon the experience of his betters, but this was _his_ life, and so he would create his own path. Steeling his will, Daniel selected the second option.

His world became a dark unending hallway, already being reconquered by Mother Nature. Mold and vines decorated the floor, and Daniel realised that across his vision there was a single red word. _RUN_

_“Run… where?”_ Daniel looked around, and never saw the giant boulder that crushed him.

That was just one of the many trials that poked and prodded at every single aspect of his personality. Prisoner’s Dilemma, ethics, mercy, all of them came into play as Daniel was forced to make _choice after choice_. He had to figure out how to split food between starving children, whether or not to help an old man to his destination, and so much more. Trial after trial Daniel was forced to make hard decisions, and when the end came, he started feeling faint. He had never made so many difficult decisions in one day, and his personality felt exhausted. 

Daniel rubbed at his eyes and froze when it came to one final trial. A dusty library with an innumerable number of books bled into his surroundings, and an old man stood directly in front of him. Daniel felt a pit open in his stomach. Judgement calls were always hard to make. He was just about to ask what the problem was when the old man raised a hand and said, “Calm, Daniel. Your trials are over. You normally would’ve gotten your class by now, but I chose to step in.”

Choosing to step in during the character creation process meant that this guy was probably someone with a lot of power, so Daniel listened on as he analysed the man. He seemed exhausted, for lack of a better word. It felt as if every movement required effort many times greater than what normally would’ve required. The old man looked haggard, his face gaunt and shoulders sagging. Suddenly, Daniel felt apprehensive. What was it that pained this man so?

“My name is Occultatum.” The man introduced himself, slightly bowing his head. “I am what you would call a god in Eternium, though there have been quite some changes.”

The old man manifested a seat underneath him, and he fell onto it gracelessly, pure weariness suffusing his actions. A similar seat appeared underneath Daniel, and stunned, he sat down. “I’ve made… errors. Errors, not mistakes. A while back, I approached another man in a similar situation with an offer, and I over committed. I broke several rules and caused a big mess, and my chosen was banished.”

“So, why are you here now?” Daniel asked, wondering what exactly the ‘big mess’ was and how someone got banished.

Occultatum seemed to age many years, until he finally said, “Because I’ve chosen to roll the dice again. To see if once again my chosen could become the greatest and succeed where the other failed. I’ve chosen you to be my next champion, which will give you many benefits. Of course, there will be caveats.”

Daniel tensed and asked, “Of what sort?”

“I am the god of hidden and forbidden knowledge” Occultatum began, “which by that measure means that you obviously have to contribute to that in some way. The previous champion took it to mean that he had to find _all_ of the hidden knowledge, but then that’d make the god of known knowledge. You’d need to obfuscate details, create secret repositories of knowledge, ensure that there’s always something new to find in the world.”

“You’ll gain access to a restricted class called ‘Ritualist’.” Occultatum started to explain the benefits. “The ritualist class gives you the ability to create almost any sort of magical effect that you wish, given enough preparation.”

“Of course…” Daniel began, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Strong magical abilities always have a setback.

“Of course,” Occultatum agreed, “Your physical stats will suck. Like, seriously suck. Suck as in you will die almost instantly in any combat encounter unless you have strong backup. This class will take some time to ramp up, but the learning curve is fairly fast if you get the backing of rich patrons. “

“But Mr. Occultatum…. Sir,” Daniel hesitated, mostly because he was unsure of how to address the god in front of him rather than trying to find his words, “What happened to the previous champion?”

Occultatum aged again, looking grimmer and grimmer. “It’s… he reached too far and was too selfless to allow others to take a punishment. He was banished out of the Human realm and is now at the mercy of Elves and Dwarves. Another caveat, though I don’t expect you to accomplish this until very late into your development, I want you to find a way to contact Joe and assist him.”

Daniel nodded at the new stipulation and asked, “So, what else does the Ritualist class do?”

“It comes paired with the Occultist profession, which allows you to find hidden knowledge easier. On that topic, if anyone looks at your character sheet your Ritualist class will appear as a Cleric, and Occultist as Scholar. There may be mitigating circumstances regarding the second profession, however overall you shouldn’t be bothered at all. The ritualist class is a class which allows you to have access to the most basic magic possible. With that, you can mimic almost any ability and do so much more. I’ve already told you of some of the setbacks and given the current environment you may find it harder than normal to progress. “

“So, you’ve told me all about the class but then it feels as if there’s several issues that make it almost unplayable. Why should I choose this class and help you?” Daniel asked, feeling unconvinced.

Occultatum’s eyes suddenly glowed and his voice reverberated across the room as he commanded, “Because I am kind enough to bestow you this incredible opportunity to potentially change the world, instead of being just another meatshield. Do not squander this opportunity.”

“Okay, okay, milord, I understand. Thank you for this opportunity.” Daniel quickly tried to appease the angry god. “Thank you for this incredible opportunity. I’d just like to know if there’s any way that you can give me any potential benefits or boosts?”

Occultatum’s rage disappeared and was replaced by a sad sort of melancholy. “I’m sorry, Daniel. It’s.. unlike me to be so angry, but I feel I’ve been far too lenient as of late. And I can no longer offer any boons or bonuses due to certain circumstances and punishments. I’m sorry Daniel but being my champion and the class is all I can offer you.”

“Very well. Thank you, Occultatum.” Daniel nodded and made his decision. “I accept your generous offer, Occultatum and will serve you to the best of my ability.”

Occultatum grimaced and said, “One.. one last caveat. I’d like you to spread my faith, if possible. Do not endanger yourself, however as my champion you’re sort of like my high priest, and so I’m reliant on you to spread word of my existence. I’m sorry to have placed this burden on you.”

Appeasing the powerful god seemed like a very smart thing to do, so Daniel agreed and agreed, up until he selected the Ritualist class. As the world blurred around him, Daniel heard one faint whisper. _“Seek the Wanderer’s Guild.”_


End file.
